The present invention is directed to a telescoping mechanism having a first arm that extends and retracts with respect to a base and a second arm that extends and retracts with respect to the first arm. The invention is particularly useful for such telescoping mechanism that is capable of extending and retracting in opposite directions. The invention is also particularly useful in applications requiring that electrical power and/or data be supplied to the second arm.
Certain applications, such as mobile shuttles that transfer articles to and receive articles from a shelf in a three-dimensional automated warehouse, require a pair of arms that are capable of extending in either direction with respect to an article carrying area on the shuttle in order to exchange an article between that article carrying area and a location on the shelf. In order to allow the arms to reach deep into the shelf, it is known to use multiple telescoping arms that extend and retract with respect to each other and with respect to the base. Also, it is known to supply electrical energy to operate electrical devices located on the telescoping arms.